As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, global communications, etc. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Generally speaking, IHSs include power supplies. A power supply provides electrical energy to an electronic device. Certain power supplies are discrete, stand-alone components, whereas others are built into larger devices. Examples of the latter include the power supplies found in desktop computers and consumer electronics.
Because the type of power generally available to any given device (e.g., from an electrical socket) is usually different from what the device needs to operate as designed, power supplies also include power converters. A power converter is a circuit for converting electrical energy; an example is the AC-DC (alternating-to-direct current) converter. The inventors hereof have recognized that emerging applications and the introduction of new regulations regarding efficient use of energy are pushing designers to find more and more efficient and improved AC-DC conversion systems.